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Letter to the Editor

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, at approximately 5:30 p.m., I witnessed a serious accident when a pedestrian, legally in the crosswalk, with the walk light on, was hit by a bicyclist. The cyclist riding west on Cambridge Street ran the red light at the corner of Cambridge and Bowdoin streets. I know this for a fact because I was in the crosswalk behind the victim. I gave my identification to the BPD as witnesses to the fact that the cyclist ran a red light. As of Saturday, Oct. 22, the victim was still in the hospital.

I am not opposed to biking in Boston or elsewhere, but I am infuriated that cyclists rarely follow the rules of the road. I walk and use the T for commuting to work and see, over and over again each and every day of the week, bikers blatantly ignoring the rules required by law for safety of all who use the streets of Boston

In the incident I witnessed the cyclist was riding hard and fast with his head down through a red light. He was not in a designated bike lane but in the middle of the road. The impact was so horrific that the woman, who was either texting or talking on a cell phone, was lifted off her feet, knocked out, bleeding profusely from the head and taken away in an ambulance.

Why are we spending so much money on bike lanes to protect the cyclist and showing no concern whatsoever for pedestrians? Why are cyclists not required to carry identification, register their bikes and carry insurance the same as the driver of a car? If cyclists share the same road as pedestrians and automobiles, why are cyclists not held to the same standards as a motorist?

I witnessed firsthand that a cyclist not obeying the rules of the road is as dangerous as any automobile or motorcycle.